Thursday, October 22, 2009

Yesterday was distributing rice meals in Talanga. I am continually impressed with the work God is doing there...and equally impressed with the dark spiritual cloud that hangs over many of the homes we visit. This has changed however. One of the women that went with my smaller group was a woman we visited quite some time ago, and prayed for her son that has MS or some other such disorder. When we visited her then, in tears she asked us to pray for him...I remember seeing him on the bed, motionless, no expression on his face, nothing. We went to her house, and she was grinning from ear to ear to run to the bedroom and bring him out to us...he was alert, smiling a huge smile while at the same time shy. He was definitely aware of us, but still due to his condition can not speak and can not move on his own. The other kids in the house were also more open and interacting with the group. That home...definitely change is happening there.

We also saw at her house (and the other group saw in other houses) a special kind of pig. I am sure there are some pig breeders that will know this breed (known here as the "gringo/gringa" breed...not sure why, because it is white?) but the remarkable earrings (or so they call them here) they have are something I have never seen before. This particular family is raising the pig for the big Christmas meal.

Talanga is in a valley, but when you go up the hill....to the last house up the hill, it also has an incredible view. The streets are not always passable by a car, and it means the people living here are quite a way from the rest of town, but when you get there...wow. The day was cool yet again, but no rain on us while we were visiting all 20-25 families.

The kids continue their week at school with different dressing themes. Yesterday was crazy hair day....I gave Soren a mohawk, and in good BA Baracus style, he was one of the three winners in the school! I just had cut his hair on Saturday, so it was not thick and bushy as I took the razor to the rest of his head, but apparently still impressive enough for the judges. He was happy (and FYI...Cecilia went as a MD today and Soren as a policeman.)

Speaking of policemen...ours at the clinic was shot yesterday. Not at the clinic, actually he was at his precinct, and someone from some distance just fired at the door where he was standing. Two shots through and through, hitting nothing major...we were praying and the entire staff went after work to visit him and said he was smiling, ok, and ready to be released on Thursday! Wow is quite an understatement as a reaction to God's protection on him.

And last but not least....this may not be funny, but I could not resist. The caption running through my head was...."when it rains, it pours."